Tag Archives: APBA Football Replay

1997 Game 181 (Week 14) Chicago at Detroit

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Lions’ offensive explodes on Turkey Day!

The #1 offense in the NFL didn’t disappoint in the first game of Thanksgiving as the Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears, 35-14. The Lions racked up 472 total yards and got outstanding games from their own version of the Triplets.

RB Barry Sanders continued his historic pace as he rushed for 150 yards on the day on 22 carries and two touchdowns. On the season, Sanders has rushed for 1827 yards on the season. If he keeps his current pace, he will rush for 2,249 yards, which would smash the single-season rushing record currently held by Eric Dickerson in 1984. The first player to rush for 2,000 yards was OJ Simpson in 1973, when he rushed for 2003 yards in 14 games. Sanders needs 177 yards in his next game to break Simpson’s mark.

QB Scott Mitchell is having the best season of his career too. Mitchell threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. With the opponent defenses concentrating on Sanders, Mitchell and the passing game has been on fire. Mitchell has thrown for 3,286 yards on a 59% completion percentage with 24 TDs and only 4 INTs. He has a 100 quarterback rating which is only behind Steve Young in the NFC.

WR Herman Moore had a sensational game as well on Turkey Day. He caught 7 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the season, Moore has 86 receptions for 1,193 yards and 11 TDs. His counterpart, Johnnie Morton has 85 catches for 1,291 yards and 8 TDs.

On the defensive side, the Lions are getting a great season from DE Robert Porcher. He had 1.5 sacks on Thursday and now is tops in the NFL with 17 sacks on the season.

The Lions are now 10-3. They sit behind the Packers in the Central standings and are the #4 seed right now in the NFC playoffs. Next week, they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins. As for the Bears, their dismal season continues as they fell to 1-12. They will host the Bills next Sunday.

1997 Game 181 Stats

1997 Game 180 (Week 13) Oakland at Denver (Monday)

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Broncos and Raiders put on an offensive display on Monday Night

The 9-2 Denver Broncos hosted the 3-8 Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football and the two teams showed their offensive firepower. The Broncos won the game 41-27 and piled up 462 yards of total offense, while the Raiders racked up 353 with an awesome game from QB Jeff George.

Broncos’ QB John Elway had one of his best games of the season when he threw for 268 yards on an efficient 20 of 27 passing with three touchdowns and a 126.8 QB rating. All three of the TDs were thrown to TE Shannon Sharpe, who caught six passes for 111 yards and the three TDs.

Raiders’ QB Jeff George is having the best season of his career, and he improved on that Monday Night. George threw for 309 yards on 22 of 31 passing with four TDs and a 142.3 QB Rating. George threw to WR Tim Brown, who is having the best season of his career. In this game, Brown caught ten passes for 170 yards and a score. On the season, Brown has caught 91 balls for 1,302 yards and six TDs.

The difference between the teams was the Broncos’ running game. They rushed for 194 yards on 42 carries. RB Terrell Davis rushed for 143 yards and two TDs in the game.

The Broncos are now 10-2 on the season with the only two losses coming via their divisional rival the Kansas City Chiefs. Next week, the Broncos will travel to San Diego to take on Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The 3-9 Raiders will host the Miami Dolphins.

1997 Game 180 Stats

1997 Game 179 (Week 13) NY Giants at Washington

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Redskins take control of the East

The Washington Redskins won the big NFC Showdown on Sunday Night Football at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium as the Skins defeated the New York Giants, 24-16, to take control of the division with four weeks of the season to go.

In the battle of division rivals, it was the Redskins who came up with the big plays to win the game and none bigger was when Brian Mitchell took the second half kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown to give the Skins a 17-13 lead. With the return, Mitchell tied an NFL record with the most kickoff returns in a season with 4. Only two other players accomplished this feat. Cecil Turner of the Bears did it in 1970 and Travis Williams of the Packers in 1967.

Redskin running back Stephen Davis didn’t have many rushing yards on the night, five, but had the most impact in the running game as he scored two red zone TDs. RB Terry Allen was held to 44 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Giants just couldn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities. They missed a field goal in the red zone and then took the ball down inside the Redskins’ five-yard line with seconds to play but couldn’t convert to tie the game. The Giants outgained the Redskins, 296 to 208, but they couldn’t convert on the scoring plays to win the game.

The two teams will meet up again in three weeks in Washington, but in the meantime, the Giants, 7-5, will take on the Tampa Buccaneers at home next week, while the Redskins, 8-4, will host the Rams next Sunday.

1997 Game 179 Stats

1997 Game 178 (Week 13) San Diego at San Francisco

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49ers shutout Chargers

The San Francisco 49ers’ defense is on an historic pace. They have allowed just 189 yards per game this season to their opponents, which would be the fewest since 1991 when the Eagles allowed 221.8. They have also allowed just 10.5 points per game to their opponents the season, which would be the lowest since the Rams allowed 10.4 in 1977.

The 49ers defense was absolutely dominant on Sunday as the 49ers shutout the San Diego Chargers 36-0 at 3 COM Park at Candlestick. The 49ers allowed 156 total yards to the Chargers including just 39 on the ground. The Niners sacked Charger QB Craig Whelihan eight times. They sacked him for a safety and forced him to throw an interception.

As for the 49ers’ offense, QB Steve Young had another impressive day. The was 21 of 26 for 202 yards and 3 TD passes. The Niners also rushed for 144 yards on 34 carries. RB Garrison Hearst had 75 yards on 20 carries.

The Niners have now won ten in a row and have a huge showdown next Sunday as they face the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers are now 1-11 and will host the Broncos on Sunday Night Football.

1997 Game 178 Stats

1997 Game 177 (Week 13) Kansas City at Seattle

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The Chiefs finally go down!

The 1972 Dolphins can finally smoke their undefeated cigars as the Kansas City Chiefs fell Sunday afternoon in the Kingdome, 17-15, to the Seattle Seahawks ruining their undefeated season. The Chiefs were the last of the undefeated in 1997. On the flip side, the Seattle Seahawks are proving that they can compete with the elite in the NFL.

The Chiefs’ Pete Stoyanovich kicked a 22-yd field goal with 4:45 left in the 4th quarter to give the Chiefs a 15-14 lead; however, that was more than enough time for the Seahawks and QB Warren Moon to counter. Moon drove the Seahawks down, converting on two huge third-down plays, inside the Chiefs’ territory. Moon connected with WR Joey Galloway twice and then once with WR Mike Pritchard to set the Seahawks up at the 20-yard line.

The Seahawks ran the ball once and then brought in kicker Todd Peterson and he drilled a 37-yard kick with no time left to win the game 17-15 giving the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

The Chiefs racked up 383 total yards with 143 of it on the ground, but they killed themselves with penalties. They were flagged 12 times for 123 yards with many of them coming at crucial moments knocking them out of scoring position.

As for the Seahawks, they just chipped away at one of the league’s top defenses. They only managed 209 yards of total offense but took advantage of great field position and timely throws from Moon, who finished with 174 yards on 22 of 42 passing with a TD and 2 INTs.

The Seahawk defense also took away the Chiefs’ top offensive passing target in WR Andre Rison. They held Rison to just 3 catches on the day for just 15 yards. Rison came into the game near the top of the league in catches and receiving yards.

The Seahawks are in the mix for a Wildcard position as they are now 8-4. They will host Atlanta in the Kingdome next Sunday, while the Chiefs’ try to bounce back from their firs loss with a huge task at Arrowhead when they take on one of the league’s best in the San Francisco 49ers.

1997 Game 177 Stats

1997 Game 176 (Week 13) Jacksonville at Cincinnati

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Bengals take down Jaguars in a shoot out

The Cincinnati Bengals kept control of the AFC North with a 41-33 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at Cinergy Field. QBs Mark Brunell and Boomer Esiason combined for 707 yards passing and 6 TDs in the wild west shootout.

Boomer is back under center in Cincinnati after QB Jeff Blake was benched and he didn’t disappoint. Esiason was on fire in this game completing 21 of 26 passes for 312 yards and 4 TDs. He hit WR Carl Pickens for an 86 yard TD and later in the game a 76-yard TD to Darnay Scott for the game-winner.

Brunell was on fire too. He was 35 of 51 passing for 395 yards and 2 TDs. WR Jimmy Smith caught 10 passes for 156 yards, while Keenan McCardell caught 9 passes for 94 yards. RB James Stewart caught 3 passes for 21 yards and 2 TDs.

The Bengals are now 8-4 and are atop of the AFC Central standings. They are tied with the Steelers in the standings but have swept the Steelers in the head-to-head matchup. The Bengals will try to keep that lead next Sunday when they travel to Philadelphia. As for the Jaguars, they have dropped three straight games and are now 4-8. They will host the Ravens next Sunday.

1997 Game 176 Stats

1997 Game 175 (Week 13) Carolina at St. Louis

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Panthers take a bite out of the Rams

The Carolina Panthers took down the St. Louis Rams, 29-13, at the TWA Dome on Sunday.  For the first time this year, the Panthers finally looked like the team that played in the NFC Championship game from a year ago. Carolina pounded the rock with 182 yards rushing and QB Kerry Collins had an efficient day going 18 of 29 for 215 yards and 2 TDs.

Rookie RB Fred Lane rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries, while RB Anthony Johnson rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries with a TD.

As for the Rams, their offensive production was putrid. QB Tony Banks started the game 0-13 in passing and was knocked out of the game. Former Redskin QB Mark Rypien replaced him and went 11 of 28 passing for 127 yards with a TD and a pick. The Rams mustered up 195 total yards.

The Panthers (3-9) will host the New Orleans Saints next Sunday, while the Rams (2-10) will take on the Redskins in Washington.

1997 Game 175 Stats

1997 Game 174 (Week 13) Tampa Bay at Chicago

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Tampa Bay shuts down the Bears

The defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is starting to become one of the elite defenses in the NFL. On Sunday, the Bucs’ defense shut down the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in a 9-3 defensive battle.

The Bucs harassed Bears’ QB Erik Kramer all day long. They sacked him five times and forced him into a crucial interception. They held the Bears to 171 total yards and only 61 yards on the ground.

As for the Buccaneer offense, they struggled too. They racked up 237 yards total offense and 105 on the ground. QB Trent Dilfer was 17 of 29 passing for 146 yards.

The Buccaneers are now 8-4 on the season and currently holds one of the NFC Wildcard positions. Next week, the Bucs have a big matchup as they travel to play the Giants. Both teams are vying for those Wildcard positions. As for the Bears, they are on one of the worst stretches in their franchise history. They are now 1-11 and have lost 10 in a row. They will take on Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.

1997 Game 174 Stats

1997 Game 173 (Week 13) Pittsburgh at Philadelphia

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Steelers snap a 3-game losing streak in Philly

The game wasn’t pretty, but the Pittsburgh Steelers snapped their 3-game losing streak in a 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Veteran’s Stadium.

The story of this game was the unrelenting pressure from the Steeler defense. They harassed and sacked Eagles’ QB Bobby Hoying all day long. The Steelers sacked Hoying six times, one which caused Hoying to lose a fumble. The Steeler defense also picked Hoying off once because of a big pass rush.

On the offensive side, the Steelers pounded the rock. RB Jerome Bettis rushed for 108 yards on 29 carries. Conversely, the Eagles rushed for 91 yards with Ricky Watters rushing for 42 on 18 carries and a TD.

QB Kordell Stewart had a so-so game. He only threw for 44 yards but tossed two TD passes to WR Yancy Thigpen. On the season, Thigpen has caught 76 passes for 1,397 yards and 11 TDs.

The Steelers, now 8-4, are trying to catch the Bengals for the division lead, but currently have an AFC Wildcard position. Next Sunday, the Steelers travel to Phoenix to take on the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium. As for the Eagles, they are now 5-7 and will host the Bengals at Veteran’s Stadium.

1997 Game 173 Stats